As a parent I’ve discovered over the years that there’s no surer way of provoking cries of ‘It’s not fair!’ from my children, than when I appear to favour one over the others. They expect to be treated equally and seem to have an inbuilt favouritism sensor that is easily triggered.   Such favouritism lies at the heart of a … Read More

On 1stNovember 1995 my wife and I went to bed secure in the knowledge that the due date for the birth of our first child was not for another 12 days. So imagine our surprise when my wife woke in the early hours and knew for certain that the baby was on its way. We were completely unprepared and flew … Read More

A recent survey revealed that a quarter of 18 – 24-year olds think that marriage should be a temporary contract much like the ones we have for our mobile phones. It would seem that the idea of a lifelong commitment to one person is being  increasingly seen as unrealistic. Our consumer culture which encourages us to keeping switching service providers … Read More

Named after the flag flown by ships preparing to set sail, the British children’s TV programme Blue Peter has certainly lived up to its name, taking generations of children on a voyage of adventure and discovery. Over 60 years the show’s presenters have brought amazing experiences into our homes and shown us things we might never otherwise have seen.  Who … Read More

About a year after the financial crash of 2008 a friend sent me a cheque for £1,000.  They had very nearly lost the money in a bank that came close to collapse.   In the letter that my friend sent with the cheque they explained that having nearly lost the money they had realised they would rather put it to … Read More

This week the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Ashers’ Bakery in Northern Ireland.  Responding to the judgement Gareth Lee, who originally sued the company on grounds of discrimination, said that it made him feel like a ‘second-class citizen.’  But he’s quite wrong and the Bible on which the owners of the Ashers’ bakery base their lives tells us … Read More

On 19thSeptember 1970 some 1500 people gathered in a field near Shepton Mallet in Somerset for a new music festival called ‘Pop, Folk and Blues’.  They had paid the grand sum of £1 each for their tickets, which included free milk from the farm and ‘food at fair prices’.  It’s fair to say that the festival has grown in popularity … Read More

Defying the urge for self-preservation history records the names of those ordinary people who sacrificed their own lives in order to save others: #aliceayres #johnrobertfox #vincentcoleman #arlandwilliams #elizabethcoghlam and #richardrescorla to name just a few.  Each one gave up their own life in order to save others and in many cases the lives of complete strangers.   This week a … Read More

Think of Japan and it’s hard not to think of numerous inventions that have spread across the world: from the Sony Walkman, to the bullet train, to laptops and karaoke, the nation has given birth to innovation that has made all our lives that much simpler and more enjoyable.  But ask the Japanese themselves which their favourite invention has been, … Read More

New research in 2018 has discovered that bombs dropped during the Second World War were so large that they had an impact in the upper atmosphere up to 1,000km above the earth.  Chris Scott from the University of Reading said that, ‘each raid released the energy of at least 300 lightning strikes.  Fortunately, the effect of these shockwaves was short-lived, … Read More